1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mooring lines for nautical vessels, and more particularly to a retrieval system for mooring lines, wherein the mooring line is stored as it is retrieved.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Watercraft, such as motor and sail boats, utilize fore and aft mooring lines at each of the port and starboard sides thereof to secure the watercraft to a dock facility. In this regard, the dock facility generally has a number of cleats or other structures, such as pilings, to which mooring lines of the watercraft may be connected.
Typically, a watercraft will have a mooring line for being connected with cleats on the watercraft in anticipation of future and present docking needs. Cleats are usually provided fore and aft at each of the starboard and port sides of the watercraft, whereupon four mooring lines would be needed to be connected to these four cleats.
Problematically, when a skipper leaves dock, the mooring lines may be loosely placed on the boat deck, whereafter they may slide off and then dangle into the water. Dangling mooring lines are, of course, unsightly and they can add drag and pose other problems to operation of the watercraft. On the other hand, if the mooring lines are secured to some component of the boat deck to prevent potential dangling, then when the mooring lines need to be made ready for docking considerable time and effort must be expended to free the lines. This lost time could be critical if a skipper is in need of a fast securement to the dock in the event of an untoward docking situation, such as when other boats may limit free navigation or high seas or winds make docking particularly tricky.
The inventor hereof has developed a mooring line receptacle apparatus, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,805, issued on Feb. 4, 1997, hereby incorporated by reference; patent application Ser. No. 08/791,973, filed on Jan. 31, 1997, hereby incorporated by reference; and patent application Ser. No. 09/026,596, filed on Feb. 20, 1998, hereby incorporated by reference. In these disclosures of the inventor hereof, the inventor hereof details an effective, simple and easy to use way to hold mooring lines in a stored state with respect to the watercraft, yet the mooring lines are instantly available when docking is imminent.
A first mooring line receptacle apparatus includes, according to the aformentioned incorporated by reference disclosures, an elongated mooring line receptacle, in the form of a single piece or a plurality of discrete segments which may be mutually touching or mutually spaced apart, for each mooring line, wherein each mooring line receptacle, wherein each mooring line receptacle is connected with watercraft at the gunwale thereof; and further includes a mooring line having an abutment member connected to the distal end thereof. The mooring line receptacle has an interior hollow formed by a sidewall composed of a durable, resilient material having a longitudinal slot therein. The sidewall opposite the slot is attached to the hull of a selected watercraft via threaded fasteners. One mooring line receptacle is located at the port bow, another at the starboard bow, another at the port stern and another at the starboard stern. Preferably, each of the sets of port and starboard mooring line receptacles end near each other at a location on the gunwale where the skipper and crew/passengers enter and leave the watercraft, generally amidship of the watercraft. The mooring line is conventional nylon or other rope material used for nautical moorage. The slot has a width smaller than the cross-section of the mooring line, such that the mooring line can be forced progressively through the slot into the interior hollow of the mooring line receptacle, and thereupon be trapped therein such that the mooring line cannot fall out of the hollow through the slot. The abutment member then abuts the end of the mooring line receptacle to thereby prevent the distal end of the mooring line from sliding into the interior hollow.
In operation, each of the port bow, port stern, starboard bow and starboard stern mooring lines have the proximate ends thereof looped over or otherwise connected with their respective cleat on the watercraft. Each mooring line is then respectively pressed into its mooring line receptacle progressively along the slot thereof and past any spacing between the receptacle segments. When docking, the skipper or a crew member grabs a mooring line, via the abutment member thereof, on the side of the watercraft facing a dock facility, and then pulls upon the mooring line to thereby free it from its mooring line receptacle via exiting progressively along the slot thereof. The person then secures that mooring line in a conventional way to the dock facility, such as for example at a dock cleat or dock piling. Other of the mooring lines are then grabbed at their respective abutment member, freed and tied as was done with the first mooring line. When it is time to shove-off, the mooring lines tied to the dock facility are released therefrom and then slipped progressively through the slot of their respective mooring line receptacles for later use when docking is to again take place.
A second mooring line receptacle apparatus according to the aformentioned incorporated by reference disclosures is generally similar to the aforementioned first mooring line receptacle apparatus, inclusive of being in the form of a single piece or a plurality of discrete receptacle segments which may be mutually touching or mutually spaced apart, where now the mooring line freely passes through the slot and is not forced therethrough. The mooring line simply lays in the interior hollow of the mooring line receptacle and is held substantially taught by an abutment member which is snappably engageable into the slot. Preferably, the abutment member is adjustably positionable on the mooring line to thereby be positioned to abut the far end of the mooring line receptacle when the mooring line is resident therein. A guide member at the near end of the mooring line receptacle aids to guide the mooring line into the slot when the mooring line is being stored thereinside.
While the above described mooring line receptacle apparatus operates very well to easily and neatly store and release mooring lines elongatedly with respect to a vessel, there remains needed an easy way to effect retraction of the mooring lines into the mooring line receptacles when a skipper is ready to shove-off. Accordingly, what is needed in the art is some effective, simple and easy to use way to retract a mooring line into its mooring line receptacle.